Angelina Jolie by Rhona Mercer

Author:Rhona Mercer [Rhona Mercer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781857829174
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2012-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

chapter 11

mad about the boy

A friend of Angelina’s once told her that there are two types of women in life: wives and mothers and aunts and lovers. Jolie recoiled in horror when she heard this theory, convinced that she’d only ever fall into the latter category. ‘I was like, “Oh no, that’s me,”’ she admitted. And, for a while, she was right. With her hedonistic lifestyle, temperamental relationships and penchant for the darker things in life, Angelina wasn’t exactly perfect mother material. And even the actress couldn’t have imagined that, a few life-changing experiences down the line, she would have transformed herself so beyond recognition. ‘I’d never held a child before. When I was growing up I never babysat; I was too punk rock to be trusted,’ she confessed. ‘I was nervous. I knew I could love a kid, but would a child be comfortable with me – or scream and want to be in somebody else’s arms?’

As we’ve already discovered, the shift in Jolie’s priorities started to take place when she spent time in England and Cambodia filming Tomb Raider, where she been exposed to a side of life that she had previously been oblivious to. And so when it came to making Beyond Borders with Clive Owen – the story of an overprivileged American, Sarah Jordan, whose head is turned by Nick Callahan (Owen), a doctor committed to humanitarian efforts in war-torn countries – the film could not have been more relevant to Jolie’s personal journey. She had actually been sent the script in 2000, but for various reasons the project was put on hold and the film wasn’t actually released until 2003. Oliver Stone, who had originally been in line to direct, dropped out over budget disagreements with Paramount, and Kevin Costner, who had agreed to take the part of Callahan, also dropped out after Jolie allegedly complained that he was too old to play her lover. The themes of the film and the issues it tackled struck a chord with Jolie, however, and, after reading the script, she realised that she wanted to know more about the UN and the work that it did. Without her persistence, said Stone, the film would never have reached production. And, according to Owen, her enthusiasm was all to do with raising awareness, ‘She was very passionate about doing the film,’ said Owen. ‘It wasn’t a vanity thing of what a fantastic part it was. It was: I want to point people towards this subject.’

As the story goes, Sarah falls in love with the rugged and passionate Nick and is in total awe of his dedication to countries riddled with poverty and deprivation and finds it very hard to go back to her comfortable and settled London life after she has seen these places with her own eyes. Similarly, Angelina, who had spent so many years expending her energy on angst and worry and self-hatred, came to realise that all the troubles of her youth paled in comparison to the problems that people in the likes of Africa, Ethiopia and Cambodia had to deal with.

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